The Montreal Canadiens traded Justin Barron to the Nashville Predators on Wednesday night. In return, the organization gets its hands on Quebecer Alexandre Carrier.
Posted at 9:51 p.m.
The two clubs thus swap right-handed defenders.
Barron seemed to have reached the end of the road with the Habs. Drafted in the first round by the Colorado Avalanche in 2020, he moved to CH two years later in the transaction that sent Artturi Lehkonen to Denver.
This offensive-minded defender is still struggling to establish himself full-time in the NHL, mainly due to his defensive deficiencies. Within a young brigade, let alone in a club undergoing reconstruction, he never found his cruising speed, instead spending a good part of the last two seasons in the American League.
PHOTO DAVID KIROUAC, ARCHIVES USA TODAY SPORTS PAR REUTERS CON
Justin Barron
Arriving at the Canadiens’ most recent training camp with a new two-year contract in his pocket, Barron wanted to establish himself within the regular group. Quite the opposite happened, as he was left out 11 times in his team’s first 31 games. He has, in the meantime, been limited to one point.
He played in CH’s last four matches, but in a marginal role. Obviously, the Predators are betting that he will fulfill, in the country city, the potential that the Avalanche and the Canadiens have seen in him in recent years.
As for Carrier, after signing a new contract last summer, he found himself at the center of a storm in Nashville, as the Predators, despite high expectations heading into the current campaign, found themselves at 32e and last place in the NHL after 32 games.
A defensive defender who has been an integral part of the Predz’s success in recent years, he is also having a difficult season. His differential of -14 is one of the worst on his club.
The small guard (5’11” and 174 lbs) is currently recovering from an “upper body” injury that forced him to miss his team’s last four games. At age 28, he is playing the fourth full season of his NHL career. The Predators drafted him in the fourth round (115e in total) in 2015.
